Broadcast 3078, Dr. Jim Logan, Dan Adamo, Dr. John Jurist

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Guests: Dr. Jim Logan, Dr. John Jurist, Dan Adamo; Topics: Multiple space policy, propulsion, technology, life support & human factors discussed in this one segment 2.5 hour discussion. Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm.

We welcomed back our three guests for this comprehensive multi-topic space subject matter discussion which went for 2.5 hours without a break! Due to the length, detail, and comprehensive information discussed during this program, I believe the best way to summarize the program is list and itemize our discussion topics in the order they took place, including calls from listeners and listener emails.

--For starters, I asked all three of our guest an opening question noting that with the initial success of Falcon Heavy, was it time to consider the cancellation of SLS. Part of this question focused on the economics as we know them today for both Falcon Heavy and SLS. Each of our guests responded to this question and added in more information, more detail and more facts and issues to consider. This was a somewhat lengthy opener but an important one so don't miss it.

The opening question led us to talking about the BFR as compared to SLS, congress, cislunar development and the purpose for it, an initial set of comments about NASA and space settlement, even the first part of a repeating theme of the program regarding the need for advanced propulsion. Caller Mark in Petaluma called us to talk history, space shuttle facts, not mixing cargo with humans, the need for a cislunar development type of train, and Mr. Musk as a wildcard. Our guests supported much of what Mark talked about but then the discussion went to our future with robots rather than humans in space and AI. Don't miss what was said about robots and AI but keep in mind these subjects came up multiple times in our program. Our next caller Kim talked about settlement issue, timelines, economics plus other factors. Dr. Logan said in reply that he thought there was too much of a focus on economic issues, especially in the early days. He explained this so listen carefully to what he said to Kim. Dr. Logan said the initial issues will be those of survival, not economic. He talked about space settlors being bioneers and doing bioneering and striving to survive. Dr. Logan's comments supported his earlier comments regarding the serious limitations of chemical propulsion noting that we absolutely needed advanced propulsion, specifically nuclear thermal.

Dr. Logan mentioned the need to be a multi-planet species and said 99% of species that had lived on Earth were extinct. I challenged Jim to provide evidence in support of multi-planet species surviving when others don't given I was not familiar with any reality based multi-planet species indented so far. Jim rose to the challenge since he frequently talks about the need for evidenced based science and more and provided us with supporting information for his multi-planet species statement. Let us know what you think about it by posting on our blog. Dan jumped in and talked about closed loop lie support for Mars. One suggestion was the use of ISRU. For example, take the tools that are needed for life support to Mars and then use them to make use of ISRU for life support so that a closed loop system may not be necessary. Kim was still listening on the phone and mentioned the BFR. Dan talked about needing lots of technology.

Freemont John was the next to jump into the discussion by discussing reasons for going to space in addition to the fact that he wanted to go. He mentioned Bezos another others who he said will make settlement work. While our guests agreed with John, they also pointed out that tourism may be the initial economic driver. Next, Tim sent in an email asking about NASA and the small mobile nuclear reactors that are being developed. This opened up a discussion about space based nuclear power, that is basing the nuclear power reactor in space and sending the power down to Earth instead of having the reactor built on Earth. Jim talked a lot about this idea, listed the advantages and the other guests joined in as well. We will likely be doing a future show on this topic with our three guests.

John from Ft. Worth called to inquire about a type of spit Moon mission in two pieces. Listen to what our guests said in response to what John was talking about. After this particular part of the discussion, I changed the subject with a question about our newly convened National Space Council (NSC). This question opened up an avalanche of comments from all of our guests, most of which were not so positive for the NSC and what it might accomplish. Each guest offered a slightly different perspective and a different set of critiques so listen carefully to all of what was said about the NSC. As before, we want to know what you think about what our guests had to say on this topic so do post comments and let us know using TSS blog.

Toward the end of our discussion, not only did the subject of doing nuclear power plants in space come up again, but Dr. Jurist suggested we combine a future Space Show program about that topic with a renewed program on the Aquarius Project suggested a few years back by Logan and Adamo. I believe such a program will be planned for a late Sunday in May or June. We continued talking about nuclear propulsion, Jim cited stats from the Navy and we talked about the differences in the Navy program versus commercial power reactors, safety issues, training, and much more. Doug sent in a note changing the subject to retirement in space as an economic market. Listen to what our guests and I had to say about the concept of retiring in space.

Before we ended, Dan brought up the issues of the Tesla payload on the FH launch and the remote chance that it could crash on Mars. He explained the orbital mechanics to us and talked about given even the smallest chance of a crash on Mars at some point in the future the regs should be modified to have such payloads decontaminated. Listen carefully to what Dan said about this issue. John provided his opinion which was different. Let us know your thoughts by posting on the blog. Dan then said he had listened to the recent discussion with Dr. Charles from the Friday before and offered comments about human adaptation to Mars 1/3 gravity, 500 days missions and the need for more detailed plans. Logan offered his comments on these matters as well, plus his thoughts on a longer lasting Mars mission. By the way, our guests did talk about missions to the Martian moon Deimos. You can hear their comments on this subject earlier in our discussion. .

Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog for this show. You can reach any or all of the guests through me.

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